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Reenactor, Robert Davie, as longtime L.S. Ayres doorman, Lewis Brown, greets people in the gallery portion at the Indiana History Center for the gala celebrating the opening of the newest exhibit You Are There: "That Ayres Look" . Frank Espich/The Star

One time L.S. Ayres model, Alpha Blackburn, walks the runway during the fashion show at the Indiana History Center for the gala celebrating the opening of the newest exhibit You Are There: "That Ayres Look" . Frank Espich/The Star

L.S. Ayres models gather at the end of the fashion show at the Indiana History Center for the gala celebrating the opening of the newest exhibit You Are There: "That Ayres Look" . Frank Espich/The Star

Indiana Historical Society takes visitors back in time with new You Are There exhibit, "That Ayres Look."

• 1901 — Fashion designer/dressmaker George Philip Meier joins Ayres and soon becomes the go-to guy for the city's high-end women. His wife was the famous palmist Nellie Simmons Meier, who worked out of their house, the Tuckaway, 3128 N. Pennsylvania St. A who's who of celebrities visited the Meiers: Mary Pickford, Walt Disney, Joan Crawford, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, Rudy Vallee, Helen Hayes, Albert Einstein, Carole Lombard, Leslie Howard and Booker T. Washington. A later owner of the house, Ken Keene, claimed to frequently see the ghosts of both Meiers.

• 1909 — While the store was owned and managed by men, Flora Krauch is hired as the company's first female executive. She opens the Children's Corner. Krauch and her sister, Anna — who would later replace Krauch — created the patent for children's creepers and play suits.

• 1928 — According to Kenneth L. Turchi's 2012 book "L.S. Ayres & Co.: The Store at the Crossroads of America," Ayres employs a cat to catch mice and kill them. Lady mingled with male alley cats and often had kittens. But in 1929, having "gone haywire," according to an account in the Indianapolis News, Lady was, in Turchi's words, "shown the door."

That Ayres Look ad(Photo: Indiana Historical Society)

• 1936 — The first national "That Ayres Look" ad appears in "Vogue" magazine. The slogan continues to run at least twice a year in the magazine in addition to other fashion and general interest publications for nearly half a century, featuring fashions by designers like Christian Dior, Bill Blass, Traina-Norell, Hattie Carnegie and more.

• 1958 — Fort Wayne native and fashion designer Bill Blass shows his first collection at L.S. Ayres & Co. Blass was known for breaking fashion molds and setting a new standard for casual American style.

• 1969 — Indianapolis native Kurt Vonnegut, the acclaimed and controversial writer, appears at the L.S. Ayres bookstore Downtown, which was the city's top bookstore. Vonnegut is there to sign (and sell) copies of the just-released "Slaughterhouse-Five," a book that would be hailed as one of the greatest books ever written in English. Not one person outside Vonnegut's family shows up. Vonnegut, crushed, wrote to his friend and fellow Indianapolis-born novelist Dan Wakefield: "I sold three copies — all of them to relatives, I swear to God."

• 1972 — As Ayres celebrates its centennial, its slogan "That Ayres Look" is the oldest continuous retail slogan in the U.S., Turchi reports. Among the store's former models were Lauren Hutton and Jennifer O'Neill, who by '72 were making movies in Hollywood.

• 1974 — Bob Hope signs and sells 500 copies of his book "The Last Christmas Show" in an hour and a half at Ayres' Downtown bookstore in what was "probably the biggest autograph party we ever had," said Chuck Gillespie, who managed the store in the 1970s. Other authors who came through Ayres during Gillespie's tenure: Jessamyn West and Pete Rose. The bookstore was in the basement, directly below what is now the Oceanaire.

• 1983 — Beverly Rice, L.S. Ayres' first female vice president, retires after 27 years. According to Turchi's book, Rice is credited with bringing pant suits to Indianapolis when her favorite designer, Yves Saint Laurent, introduced them in 1970.

• 1992 — People are sad as Ayres' venerable Downtown store prepares to close after the company's sale to St. Louis-based May Department Store Co. But, in an interview with The Indianapolis Star's Betsy Harris, retired Ayres president Daniel Evans says "The problem is a lot of people are nostalgic about it, but they chose not to shop down there. Nostalgia cannot be turned into sales dollars."

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The arrival of L.S. Ayres was much anticipated. It featured a bargain store in the basement (a fairly new concept in retailing at the time) with a soda fountain, Tea Room and elaborate displays of hats and clothing. Detroit Publishing Co.

This 1905 of the L.S. Ayres' Tea Room shows the dining room when the new store opened. The waitresses in the starched black and white uniforms were a staple of the restaurant for decades. A luncheon at the famed Tea Room wasn't complete without Chicken Velvet Soup, chicken salad or a hobo lunch for the kids and a trip to the treasure chest for a toy. file photo

Jane Wampler of Indiana University (right), ecorted by Don Stiner, modeled a cashmere sweater set with tweed skirt during the college fashions show at L.S. Ayres & Co. on Aug. 8, 1951. Two standing-room only performances saw the latest in fashions for college-bound coeds. Turtlenecks were also a popular fashion featured at the show. A news account described them as "new to this generation, coming to life with the revival of Scott Fitzgerald, with whom they always are associated, worn new ways." Photo by Indianapolis Star photographer Maurice G. Burnett

The L.S. Ayres store at Washington and Meridian Streets - Oct. 24, 1950. Ayres was a trend-setter. It was the first store in Indianapolis to incorporate telephones, elevators, escalators and a fleet of delivery trucks. Joseph E. Craven

The holiday Cherub, a longtime Downtown Indianapolis tradition, resumed its perch on the side of the former L.S. Ayres building at the corner of Meridian and Washington streets each Christmas. The bronze sculpture, created by Indianapolis sculptor and Herron Art School instructor David Rubins, first appeared on the building's clock in 1947. (Scott Thien / The Indianapolis Star) Scott Thien

KURT VONNEGUT JR is back in Indianapolis, his birthplace, to visit and autography copies of his new book, "Slaugherhouse Five." The autograph session was at Ayres downtown bookstore. (Original publication May 3, 1969 Indianapolis News.) JOE YOUNG / INDIANAPOLIS NEWS

Lyman S. Ayres bought into a dry goods store in Indianapolis in 1872, but was still living in New York. He moved to Indianapolis in 1874, bought out his partner, and opened a new shop across the street from the old one. The new shop shown here was at 33-37 West Washington St. Star File Photo

Long before some of the country's top fashion designers were collaborating with Target and Easter dresses arrived at front doors via UPS, L.S. Ayres & Co. was Indianapolis' premiere shopping destination.

On Saturday, March 14, the Indiana Historical Society will open an exhibit, "You Are There: That Ayres Look," where visitors can explore the history of the iconic company, which disappeared from retail in 2006.

Keeping in line with the society's popular "You Are There" format, the exhibit will feature real-life characters from 1959, such as Lyman Ayres II, president and chairman, and Lewis "Brownie" Brown, an elevator operator.

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The holiday Cherub, a longtime Downtown Indianapolis tradition, first appeared on the L.S. Ayres building's clock in 1947.(Photo: Scott Thien/The Star)

Visitors will see dress mannequins with rotating fashion and historical photographs, documents and videos. The Ayres cherub will be on display for the first time outside of its holiday home atop the clock on the corner of Washington and Meridian streets. Streets.

In June, the History center will host a fashion show highlighting 100 years of fashion trends. Following the show, the audience is invited to chat with the models to learn more about the decade from which their clothing represents and "That Ayres Look."

6:30 – 8 :30 p.m., June 17, $5 for members, $8 in advance, $10 at the door, register at tickets.indianahistory.org.